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Florida Likely to be the Second Largest Medical Cannabis State by 2020

Florida’s size and large percentage of elderly residents could vault the state to the second-largest U.S. medical cannabis market by 2020, a new report shows.

By 2020, Florida could be tallying $1.6 billion in medical marijuana sales — and have a 7.5 percent share of the overall U.S. legal cannabis market and a 14 percent share of the U.S. medical pot market, according to data released Tuesday from New Frontier Data and The Arcview Group, firms that specialize in conducting market research of the burgeoning cannabis industry.

Florida’s Amendment 2, a measure to legalize medical marijuana for certain ailments such as cancer and Crohn’s disease, overwhelmingly passed on Nov. 8, with nearly 6.5 million votes, or 71.2 percent, in favor. Florida previously allowed non-smoked, low-THC cannabis — containing 0.8 percent or less of THC and at least 10 percent of cannabidiol (CBD) — for people with cancer, a physical medical condition that chronically causes spasms or seizures, or those who are terminally ill.

After Election Night, medical marijuana laws have been adopted in 28 states and the District of Columbia, and recreational marijuana is legal in eight states and D.C. By 2020, the legal cannabis market in the U.S. is estimated to total $21.2 billion, New Frontier and Arcview project.

If Florida lawmakers and health officials adopt regulations that allow for efficient entry of physicians and patients, flexibility in licenses and permits to serve a growing patient population, and a variety of product forms, then the state could see medical marijuana sales of $10.7 million in 2017, $277.7 million in 2018, $1.1 billion in 2019 and $1.6 billion in 2020, according to the New Frontier and Arcview report.

At $1.6 billion in 2020, Florida would be about half the size of projected market leader California with its estimated $3.3 billion in medical sales, according to the report.

Florida’s projection is dependent on several variables, including moratoriums put in place at the local level, the report’s authors noted — adding that other key trends could consist of the development of advanced delivery services that would better serve the state’s large elderly population.

Florida has the largest percent of people 65 years of age and older among U.S. states.